A Song of Ice and Snow
by Lord of the Saiyans
Summary: A normal day for the Digi-Destined soon turns sour when an ancient temple beneath the earth is disturbed by the Emperor's forces, and they have to race against time to stop them before they release one of the greatest evils in the Digital World.
1. Wings of Ice Talons of Snow

_Claws of Ice and Wings of Now_

The ending of our tale takes place a long time ago, in a far-off place that might one day grow to be the Digital World of modern times. The seed is planted, but it is not yet growing. For this is a savage, brutal and deadly place to make a living. The weak die young and the stronger prosper and grow stronger. Most Digimon die out at around their champion stage, which makes the hulking form of the lone Digimon left standing on the burning plain, something of an abnormality.

Omnimon was hurt badly; his armour was cracked and dented, blood was leaking from a deep gouge along his chest and he couldn't see out of one eye. His cannon-arm had been rendered totally useless. Streams of raw data were leaking from it even as he watched. Its crushed, mutilated form a mute testament to the power of his adversaries – and the greatness of his victory. He was using his sword to balance, it too was cracked but not too badly. It might mend. In time.

The sun was setting in the sky; strange but he'd never really stopped to watch the sun set before... it stained the sky crimson, like blood. But it was a good sight to see because it meant that the sun was setting on the last day of the Digital Kingdom, and that when it rose tomorrow, maybe, just maybe, they could have what they had always wanted. Freedom. He turned his eyes upon the multiple crumpled bodies that littered the plains – some had fallen into the many craters blasted like wounds into the earth, others just lay where they had fallen. There were many bodies, many poor souls who would not be reborn. By rights, their bodies should have been de-constructing, being pulled apart so as to be reconfigured. They should be starting life again. They were not. He felt a coldness in his gut, the same old feeling that he had known as long as he had lived. He probably got it from WarGreymon. One of the bodies twitched, groaning as it tried to draw itself up. Omnimon was there in an instant, kneeling he withdrew his blade and helped the red-armoured Digimon to his knees.

His heart beat like a drum as he helped one of his oldest friends. Gallantmon! But he had thought that the other was dead, the shadow-lance had impaled him from side to side – and yes, Omnimon could see the twin great holes in his armour, the tiny streams of data leaking out, but not enough. No, nowhere near enough. For Gallantmon, everything would end here. Besides that, his lance had been broken and no inch of his armour was free of dents, gauges or deep scratches. It made Omnimon want to cry; here lay so many brave warriors, who had given everything for this one, final fight and they would not even be allowed a new life? Would they slumber in the place between life and rebirth endlessly? Would they die? Digimon did not, in general, have the mental toolbox to contemplate true death. It was alien to their very being; no Digimon ever died forever. Even those ones who were absorbed by a rival would be separated and reborn when said rival met its own end. Omnimon had to struggle, not just for words, but for thoughts. He had to turn over and think of complex concepts that had never before held any sway for him or his kin. True death; so huge, so alien, so _terrifying. _ Was this how humans felt? Did they feel every second ticking away, did they fear the dark? Did oblivion wait for them as well?

Omnimon knew that he was going to die. The wounds were too deep, the damage too great. He'd used up so much energy during the fight that there was little left for survival or healing. This was the end for him as well as for Gallantmon. But it had been worth it! Yes, he told himself, it had been worth it. The fight, the sacrifice, his own life – his whole existence – he'd do it again if he had to.

"Gallantmon..." He chocked..." Old friend, speak to me."

"We...won." Gallantmon's voice was weak, he didn't have much time left. Omnimon was siezed by a terrifyingly strong desire to take his friend and run. To move as fast as he could to the edge of the field and then...then they could be reborn! Outside the field, they could start again... But no, his desperation crushed the feeble hope. He didn't have the energy to fly and lacked the mobility to run. They were done for.

" We won."

"The others...?"

"None survived... we're the last."

" And when we two pass...there shall end the Royal Knights."

" Don't speak of such things." Said Omnimon, desperation tainting his voice. " We're not wounded too badly."

"Ah my old friend, but you always did cover up the truth when you didn't think I was up to. We're not going anywhere. I am mortally wounded...the shadow-lance did a real number on me. I'm having trouble just holding myself together...I think I see the same pain on your face. Its over."

"Yes." Omnimon acknowledged, not just to Gallantmon, but also to himself, "It is over."

"But we left some stories for them to tell." Gallantmon's chuckle sounded like a death-rattle. " The final fight of the Royal Knights! That tale will be passed on for generations, and we'll be remembered always as the ones who brought down the Digital Kingdom."

" But we won't be reborn." Omnimon said, his feeling rushing out of him in a torrent of emotion. " Its over. We don't come back."

"Yes. But that is a risk we both took when we marched out to meet the enemy in battle. I don't think we expected it to end any other way. Did any of the Knights survive?"

"I don't know...I do not think so...maybe two... Magnamon was missing when the mission began, and Alphamon was presumed lost during the initial wave. I do not know if they have survived but if they did..."

"The Royal Knights may not be consigned to history after all. Let us hope then, old friend."

The end was coming now, his limbs were going numb, Omnimon realised that he could no longer stand even if he wanted to. His vision was starting to blur, to go dark at the edges. _So this is how a Royal Knight dies. _He thought, _wounded and alone on the battlefield._ He looked down at Gallantmon, his chest still moving, but too weak to speak now. Then, he looked at the bodies, so many bodies. Some armoured, some with fur or feathers. All knights. Every one of them had come knowing that they would die, and every one of them had knew there was no coming back and they'd gone and they'd fought and died. _No, never alone. _ He added. _Never alone. _

In time, the world went totally dark and Omnimon felt his body slipping to the ground in a distant kind of way. He was numb but not cold, perhaps this wasn't so unpleasant, he thought. As he felt death closing in on him, he wondered, would he dream?

Then, a felt an armoured hand on his shoulder and a voice by his ear.

" Omnimon? What happened to you? This looks bad...hold on, Royal Knight, I can heal you."

And then he knew no more.

_**Chapter One: Claws of Ice and Wings of Snow **_

The beginning of the story – or at least, the chapter of the story that we will concern ourselves with for today, takes place on the icy northern wastes. The wind howled like a wild beast, snow cold enough to freeze water in minutes coated the ground like a thick carpet. The Frigimon were almost invisible, crouching down so that it covered them like a coat. Fifteen of them all in all, the best that the Digimon Emperor had captured. The Dark Rings around their legs, necks and arms glinted as they always did with a malignant energy. Their eyes, devoid of anything but a cold desire to do the will of the Digimon Emperor.

IceDevimon felt his lips curl up in a feral smile, the Control Spire at his back pushed up through the clouds like a defiant fortress, a bastion of order in a world of chaos. And it was his duty – no, his privilege, to defend it to the last breath. He felt the snow beat against his great wings, wrapped about his body like a cloak. It was not the cold he hide from – an icy Digimon by nature, he felt quite at home here – but with the cloak braking up his shape he was quite efficiently hidden in the icy wind. The small computer-terminal perched on the ice-encrusted rock was a small bastion of light, it was winter here, the clouds constantly shifting and covering the sun. Here, he thought with a skip of his evil heart, here was the place that the Digi-Destined would die! By his hands, the red blood of the humans would flow and he would exult in their despair and drink it like the finest wine. Here, he would prove to the beloved Digimon Emperor that he was not the worthless scum that he was taken for, he would serve his Emperor with all the breath in his body and all the flesh on his bones.

The Dark Ring around his neck was a comfort, of course. A constant reminder of the benevolence and love of the Digimon Emperor. It was a light to guide his way, before he had been released by it, he had been nothing. Oh how petty his schemes and revenges felt now! Oh how pale his life had been... but thanks to the Dark Ring – and the Control Spire that jutted from the ground so defiantly – his life had purpose, his life had meaning. It did not even occur to him that his life had plenty of meaning beforehand – the Dark Ring simply would not allow such seditious thoughts into his brain.

The terminal began to flash, his heart hammered in his chest. They were coming, the Digi-Destined were arriving to meet there doom. His hands itched, he yearned to strike at those fools, to kill them in the name of the most glorious Digimon Emperor. _Wait, _he cautioned himself, he didn't want to mess up. One slip-up and the fools would escape and he would have failed the trust that the beloved Emperor put in him! The thought was nearly too much to bare, the shame and guilt of the action reached deep into his soul like a jagged knife. No, he would wait and watch. And it was well that he did, for rather than the whole team emerging from the terminal, only two did. The tall one with goggles and the smaller child. They had come up a Veemon and an Armadillomon. Briefly, he worried that the Emperor would be upset. If he managed to kill only to out of the whole team, surely he would not have failed the magnificent leader? Surely the Emperor would appreciate that at least now his enemies were weaker and reward him? Still, there was no helping it.

"There's the Control Spire." The child said, pointing at the great tower. " Strange... its unguarded. That's not like the Emperor at all."

" Hey, maybe they heard we were coming and all ran away!" Suggested the tall one with the goggles. " It doesn't matter anyway, let's just knock it down so we can meet up with Kari and what'shisface."

"You mean TK?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Strange." Pondered the child, " Look there's a sea out there. All frozen up now of course, but I suppose in the summer this place must be right on the coast."

"Yeah, so?"

" It looks like a major hub of travel, The Emperor should have _some _guards at the very least. Its an important location. He's not been stupid so far, don't expect him to start now."

" Still," he continued, as though in deep thought. " We can't just stand around all day... lets do it."

" All right!" Cheered the goggled one, " Veemon hear that? Lets do this! Digi-Armour Energise!"

"Veemon Armour Digivolve to...Flamedramon. The Fire of Courage."

IceDevimon felt himself shake just a little bit as the force of the evolution brushed so lightly against his hidden form. His own evolution had been dangerous, long and hard. He'd had to fight his way up – first as an Impmon and then as IceDevimon. He still remembered the days from before the Emperor rose and how hard, unforgiving and cruel life had been. He was much better now, of course but still... the sheer energy required to force a digivolution so easily? For the first time, he felt a little apprehension. But only for a second before the Dark Ring vanquished it.

" Armadillomon, you too!"

"Right, Armadillomon Armour-Digivolve to...Digmon. The Drill of Knowledge!"

The two armour Digimon stood side-by-side, their bodies gleaming. But only two...only two against sixteen. The smirk returned to his face. The great wisdom of the Digimon Emperor proved right once again. He waited just another heartbeat before springing forth; jerking back his wings like a devil from hell itself. He savoured the look of shock on the face of the goggled one, the look of expectation from the short one, and then the fifteen Frigimon sprang forth.

" Enemies of the Digimon Emperor must be destroyed!" IceDevimon roared, swooping down upon Digmon.

The battle began.

"Subzero Ice Fist!" A rain of icy blows descended towards Flamedramon. He ducked and weaved but he wasn't important. IceDevimon let him face from his mind. The Digimon Emperor was depending on him. All that mattered was him and his target.

"Digmon! Prepare to meet your doom! Tundra Freeze!"

The blast of friezing energy lanced from his eyes. Digimon sidled out of the way, but a stray beam caught his foot. It froze to the ground.

" Oh, this ain't good."

IceDevimon threw back his head and laughed.

"You fools don't understand the danger that you're in! I am IceDevimon, and I have haunted stronger Digimon than you for sport! Meet your doom! Tundra Freeze!"

"Gold Rush!"

IceDevimon howled in outrage. The drills ripped through the sky and he just barely got out of the way. One of them nicked his left wing as it moved past and he growled in pain. _You're going to regret that!_

" Frozen Claw!"

With a flap of his ragged wings, he darted down. His claw flashed out and Digmon staggered back.

"Frozen Claw!"

He struck out again. The blow forced Digmon to the ground.

" Now, time to end this. FROZEN CLAW!"

"Gold Rush!"

He was too close to dodge, IceDevimon realised too late. The drills slammed into him, he recoiled in pain. But he was a champion-level of the Devimon line. Such a simple attack would never finish him.

" I won't let you fools take another step." He growled, " Here and now is when you die! For the glory of the Digimon Emperor I will destroy you all!"

"Tundra Freeze!"

This time he held nothing back, Digmon crossed his arms as the massive blast of icy power washed over him like a flood. Ice began to crystallise into being. Digmon tried to step back but his feet were frozen to the ground. He tried to uncross his arms, but they were iced together.

"Digmon!" His young partner yelled, " Digmon do something! Get out of there!"

" I'm tryin'." Digmon growled. " I can't move."

IceDevimon started to cackle. " You never really had a chance, you know that right? With my power, I could have crushed you at any time. You amused me for a while but now you're just a pest. And pests get exterminated."

"You talk too much."

Devimon jolted to the side just in time, as the blast of fiery heat surged passed him. His eyes narrowed. Flamedramon. He should have known that those worthless Frigimon wouldn't be able to hold their own against a determined rookie, never-mind an armoured fire-based Digimon. Sure enough, he spotted six of them lying on the ground. His narrowed. Their Dark Rings had been shattered! Instinctive hatred surged through his body.

" You...scum." He hissed through clenched teeth. Flamedramon had broken their connection with the Digimon Emperor – he had shattered the freedom afforded by the rings, dragged them back to what they once had been. But that still left nine Frigimon scattered throughought the field of battle, some of them had been knocked down and were just getting back to their feet. Others were circling Flamedramon slowly. The fire Digimon looked tired. He didn't have the power left to take on the rest of the Frigimon. This fight was as good as over.

But...

Flamedramon had broken the Dark Rings, that made it a personal insult against the beloved Emperor and _that _meant that this was personal to him.

" Frigimon, deal with Digmon. He should be more than weak enough for even low-level scum like you to defeat. Do not delete him. The Emperor wants... a living specimen."

The Frigimon saluted and began to break away from Flamedramon, but the armoured Digimon had other plans.

" Not on my watch! Fire Rocke-"

"Tundra Freeze!"

Caught in mid-attack, Flamedramon was helpless as the friezing beam strafed his side.

"Ah! That's cold."

" Frozen Claw!"

Flamedramon was knocked off his feet, trailing a stream of broken ice as he fell backwards.

The goggled human watched wide-eyed.

"Flamedramon! You can do this! Its only one Digimon."

_Poor foolish human. _IceDevimon thought as he swooped like an overgrown bird, down upon Flamedramon. _He has no idea just what kind of power I have at my disposal. _

"Frozen Claw!"

Flamedramon grunted, three deep claw-marks stood out in his blue flesh.

" Now, DIE! Frozen Claw!"

" Flamedramon!"

For a second, they seemed to be frozen in time, IceDevimon exalting in his victory, Flamedramon, exhausted from his battle with the Frigimon, still trying to rise. His arm up-raised in a desperate attempt to fend of the oncoming blow.

Then, the ice along the coast exploded.

" Harpoon Torpedo!"

A massive shaggy form roared as it heaved itself up into dry land.

" Ikkaumon!" Gasped the humans.

The Digimon grinned, " Heard you were in the neighbourhood, thought you could use my help.

IceDevimon screamed in frustration.

" How many of you must I defeat before I have victory?"

" I don't know, all of us?"

IceDevimon spun around, and hissed at the horse-like Digimon that had accompanied Ikkakumon. Even as an armoured form, IceDevimon recognised the shape of one of his most hated enemies.

_Pegasusmon! _

This was spinning out of control, two more new enemies and who knew how many more to come? This wasn't part of the plan at all! The Digi-Destined were supposed to be ambushed, and then they were supposed to be surprised by his own far above champion strength. But now two more had arrived, one armour and one champion. And they'd seen him fight and would know his strength! He had to escape, flee... but that would mean leaving the Control Spire to the defence of the Frigimon who, quite frankly, were probably just as likely to destroy it through their own incompetence. And then the Emperor would know that he had failed... He felt shame, such deep shame that he'd even ever contemplated running. Why, it was an honour to give his life up for the Emperor! He was privileged to have this chance.

" You think too much too."

He was broken out of his musing by a voice, he looked down. Flamedramon! The fool had recovered enough to gather his power. Suddenly, it dawned on IceDevimon just how much danger he really was in. He leapt into the air, his wings strained to carry him to safety... but it was too late.

" Fire Rocket!"

This time, there was no dodging. No time to move or to leap to the side or even to brace for the pain. The fiery blast caught him right in the chest and he screamed, flames ate into him, his very essence – that of ice – was under assault. Smoke rose form his body, he forced the agony back. Pain, he felt sick, but he couldn't let that fool Flamedramon win. He couldn't let them see how badly he'd been hurt.

Flapping his wings to clear the steam, he roared.

"I'll take you all on! Tundra Freeze!"

"Harpoon Torpedo."

"Fire Rocket!"

"Equus Beam!"

The three combined attacks slammed into his beam, and to his horror started to push it back.

_No! It can't end like this! I cannot fail the Emperor. I-I I don't want to die!_

He roared, the pain that filled his body forgotten, he poured everything into his attack. All his cold heart, his driving desire to grow stronger, his will to survive. Everything.

The Tundra Freeze sputtered for a second, and died.

He just had time to see the oncoming attacks before they slammed into him, and he knew nothing but pain. As he fell from the sky, trailing smoke, his body started to lose cohesion. Streams of data spiralled up into the air, his outline blurred. Hitting the ground was almost as painful as the attack itself had been. He thought that the force of impact would finish him of for sure, but somehow he managed to keep himself from being deleted.

Despite the agony pounding through his body, he forced himself to one knee. Shaking his head to clear it of the ringing and the pain, he chocked out an order.

" Frigimon, help." The Frigimon wouldn't last long, but he could use the time to escape. ( The Dark Ring on his neck filled him with revulsion and shame, but some deep part of him had risen and blotted out its power for the minute. He could atone to the Emperor later, he needed to survive to have any chance of making this right.)

"Frigimon?"

He turned round to see the last of the Frigimon fall to the ground, Digmon – free from the ice, grinned at him.

"That was a pretty good attack. But they don't call me the Drill of Knowledge for nothing you know."

IceDevimon slumped to the ground It was all over then, outnumbered, badly wounded and with no reinforcements. But he wasn't going to die on the ground like this, he would fight for as long as he could! For the Glory of the Digimon Emperor!

He rose again, ignoring the pain. It didn't matter now.

" Tundra Freeze!"

Flamedramon was caught square in the blast, a thin skin of ice formed at once and thickened as he continued to pour in power. This time there would be no holding back, he would suck all warmth out of that Digimon until he was dead. IceDevimon would not be reborn alone!

" I don't think so. Rock Cracking!"

The earth opened up under him, with a final screech, IceDevimon fell into the waiting darkness. The last sight he saw, outlined in the sky, was the Control Spire, the magnificent, glorious Control Spire, dying in a hail of attacks.

And the last thing he knew, was that he had failed and did not deserve to live. Then, darkness swallowed him whole and he knew no more.

And that might have been the end of it, should have been the end of it. But destiny has a way of mucking about with what should happen. Because deep in the darkness, a mind that was not a mind laughed to itself. And if it could have thought, its thoughts might go something like this:

"_Finally."_

And so, the nightmare began.


	2. Monster Who in Darkness Dwells

Chapter 2

_Monster who in darkness dwells _

When he woke; it was slowly. Like he was climbing out of the shadows, the pain in his body echoed and re-echoed through his fractured mind. He couldn't think straight. His mind had been shattered, pain, such pain, and failure and a sudden dreadful lack of purpose had filled him and taken away all thought. And it cool and comfortable in the shadows, and he didn't have to think. Why not just rest for a while? Just close his eyes...and rest.

No, something within him rebelled. If he closed his eyes, went to sleep, then it would be the end. He would be no more. But who was he anyway? So many jumbled feelings filled him up, he didn't know what was real and what wasn't. Thoughts, ideas, wild emotions ran round and round the inside of his head until he wanted to scream. Who was he? What was he? He didn't know. Images formed in his mind – a little guy, purple skin and a small tail. Two green eyes. _Impmon. _The name rose in his mind without bidding. Was this him? No...no it didn't feel right. It was true, there was some connection between that image and himself, but he wasn't Impmon...not any more.

So what was he then? A new image, a dark winged fallen angel. Black skin and great ragged wings and eyes so full of hate and power. And he felt connected to this one too, but it was not him. This was Devimon, said a small voice in his head. And it was not he. But then who was it? And what was he?

He tried to focus on the jumble of feelings, memories and emotions that stormed within him. Tried to sort them out. To line them up. What was the last thing he remembered? The ground, the ground opening to swallow him up. Before that? Pain. No memories, just a vivid sensation of absolute pain. He felt the claws of fear in his chest, but he forced it back down. _ Calm. _He told himself. _ I must be calm, controlled as the ice. I do not feel fear; I cause it. _ But how did he know? His whole purpose was unravelling in front of his eyes. He needed something to focus on, he needed...

He needed a name.

_IceDevimon. _ Whispered the voice.

IceDevimon. Yes, that was him. He saw himself then, like Devimon but greater. Icy cold and powerful enough to challenge any champion.

_IceDevimon. _He told himself. _Yes, I am IceDevimon. _Repeating the name to himself brought comfort. _ I AM IceDevimon. Fallen Angel Digimon. Champion level. I think...I think that I have slept for a very long time._

Now he had a name, he clung to it. Like a tiny shred of self in the great chaotic river that his mind had become; like a raft that was all that remained of a sinking ship. He began to re-assemble that ship. The raft grew as he grafted new portions onto it – memories, concepts, thoughts and feelings. All added to the larger picture.

All combined to make him.._.him _again.

The pain was a constant, but he used it. He grounded himself with it. Like an anchor in the fog that kept him connected with what was real and what wasn't. Pain was no stranger to him, all his life he had known pain. He remembered now, so clearly. Of all the battles in his life, none had been easy. Many times, he had nearly died. Been deleted, forced to start again. But never quite. Because of his will, because of his fighting spirit...but mostly because he simply refused to roll over and die. That was what made him digivolve in the first place, wasn't it? He struggled through the fog that obscured his memories. He'd been Impmon then, hadn't he? Yes, it was all coming back. The hate, the fear and the pain. And the surging determination, the knowledge that there had to be something more to live than this... and the determination to search it out and to find it. And he had. He'd fought his way through the ranks, he'd Digivolved when he needed to and faced the guardian...

Yes, the guardian. Now _that _was a whole new story.

"_**But not, entirely unrelated."**_

He jumped at the voice. It was booming, vast and full of confidence.

_Who are you? _He thought.

" _**I'm you."**_

That didn't fit though... he didn't know why, his mind was still blurry but it didn't quite seem right. Pretty much everything in his life hadn't been quite right so he knew the feeling.

Before he could think any more, the darkness surged forwards and he was lost.

IceDevimon awoke properly this time. The pounding in his body was savage, like he'd been beaten within an inch of death. Just why was that? Oh that was right. He had. He groaned to himself, but the worst of the wounds was healed. His body was strong, his will unbreakable. He forced his eyes open. How long had he been asleep? He hadn't ever expected to wake, his last memory was the combination attack surging into him and then...

And then the Control Spire being obliterated. Now there was a memory to get the blood pumping. _Control Spire; Dark Ring; Digimon Emperor. _ His heart beat like a drum. The Emperor! How could he have forgotten the Emperor! Oh how he had failed... but that wasn't right surely? He was IceDevimon, proud and lonesome. He didn't serve Emperors, he didn't bow to pathetic humans. Almost unbidden, his taloned hand closed around the Dark Ring that enclosed his neck. Dark Ring. Yes. He had been hit by a Dark Ring. After that...he had trouble remembering. It was all a blur of orders, stupid, stupid thoughts and undying loyalty to the scum-bag ruler. Except for the last fight, that he remembered with frightening clarity. He'd fought the Digi-Destined to a standstill... he grinned. Even constrained and mocked by that ring, the power of the Devimon line was still strong in him.

And now he was free. The Control Spire must have been the one powering his ring then. He could still feel its claws around his mind, but without the backing of a spire it was weak. It could do little more than influence. Still, even a little bit of influence was far too much. With a grunt, he snapped the ring in two. Shards of dark metal-like material fell to the ground as IceDevimon rejoiced in the first freedom he had felt in months. His mind felt much clearer now. It was like spending time in the coldest of environments, IceDevimon felt at his best. But his body certainly wasn't. The worst of the injuries had been healed somehow, but he still felt far too weak to fly out of here and what was more, the Digi-Destined or the Emperor might be looking for him. He couldn't afford that.

But just where was he? This place looked ancient. He was standing in some kind of corridor, carved stone walls. Full of letters that he couldn't read. He rested a hand for a second on one of them. It was cold to the touch. Friezing. That explained why he felt so powerful here.

He looked up, but like he'd half expected there was no sign of the crevice through which he'd fallen in. That was strange, but it was the Digi-Wold after all. Buildings and landmasses moved around all the time. Still...these corridors weren't just any building. Laying a hand against them, he felt the energy that radiated. Power, pure power. And not the power of the angels like Angemon harnessed... this was pure evil... pure Devimon. He grinned,

Just like home.

The Digimon Emperor was furious. His brilliant plan had failed, those fools had been able to defeat his forces and destroy his Control Spire in that sector. That meant not only had they beaten him, but now a major travel-hub was out of his hands. It would take him far longer to move his forces unless he could retake it.

All in all, he was in a foul mood.

But it wasn't a complete loss, he supposed. At least it got rid of that irritation IceDevimon. He had been powerful before he was taken by the Dark Rings, but afterwards he had been little more than an annoyance. The Emperor had hoped that by sending him on this mission, he would finally serve a purpose but even now he had failed. He should have known better than to trust him. But all was not lost; he could round up some new units from his reserves and retake the sector. Just then, one of the ever-present monitors started to bleep.

He frowned behind his visor. A massive energy upsurge centred on the sector that he had just lost? Impossible, he'd controlled it for weeks without a single hint that anything was unusual.

"Wormmon!"

His simpering fool of an assistant rushed over to the throne.

" Yes, Ken?"

The Emperor growled, his whip slashed out. As Wormmon recoiled, he said. " You call me Emperor. "

" Y-yes my emperor." Wormmon said, his eyes down-turned. _Why can't Ken go back to the way he used to be? _

"Wormmon check the machinery for this sector. We must be getting errors."

As his incompetent lackey hurried off to obey, the Emperor called up footage taken from his Dark Ring during the battle. On the off-chance this wasn't just an error, he needed to know what had caused it. If it could be harnessed it could be a useful addition to his forces.

Five minutes later, he had reviewed the footage. Wormmon had reported in that there was no error, so he was forced to conclude that his instruments were accurate...so the massive amount of Dark Energy being produced was for real. That changed things; if he could find a way to control it or direct it it could aid him in future battles... but it would not go unnoticed and those fools, the Digi-Destined would no doubt try to block it. He couldn't allow that. To be defeated once was unfortunate. To be defeated twice at the same place in the same day would be humiliation.

"Wormmon, get together a regiment of our best troops! We're going here, and we're taking all the muscle we'll need to regain control."

_And if those fools think they can stop me. _ He added to himself. _They are in for a very nasty surprise. _

The corridors seemed endless, a great maze waiting to ensnare unwary Digimon who stumbled upon it by accident. _Like me. _Thought IceDevimon. He had spent several hours walking and was getting rather tired. His legs ached and the pain in his body was starting to grow again. He was practically stumbling through corridor after identical corridor, they seemed to go on for miles. Maybe he'd been going round in a circle. All he knew was that he wasn't strong enough to fly as yet. Also, the walls were very strong. He would have suspected Chrome-Digizoid except that it didn't feel like metal. It was some strange kind of stone that resisted even his strongest attacks. He guessed the only way to get out was to make it to the exit – if there even was one.

The other thing he'd found strange about the place was the statues. They weren't common, but each of them seemed to sparkle, like a beacon of light in blackest night. He hated them, he'd destroyed the first few he came across but he didn't have the energy to keep it up. They were statues of ice, normally that'd be just his kind of thing. Except that they were statues of Angemon. Repeated endlessly through the corridors like silent guardians; each of them exuding the same kind of power that was the trademark of a real Angemon. It made him sick just to look at them. He hated them, hated their perfection.

Growling, he shattered the latest one with a well-placed Frozen Claw. Maybe he had enough energy left after all. They were mockery plain and simple. He didn't know what they were doing here, the place resonated with dark power. He felt that it had been getting stronger since he arrived, but that might simply be because his body was healing and he was able to feel it more effectively.

The decapitated head of the ice-Angemon looked up at him with a expression of smug-superiority. So much like the real thing.

So much like...

So much like –

IceDevimon collapsed to the floor.

"_Impmon! Impmon!"_

"_What is it? Can't ya see I'm tryin' ta rest up here?"_

_Impmon peered over the branch of the great tree in which he spent most of his days. On the ground below, he saw three of the small pink Yokomon that populated the village just to the south. _A more borin' bunch of Digimon you'd never want to find. _Impmon thought to himself. _

_The lead Yokomon he recognised. He sighed again, he thought he'd gotten away with it Ah well, time to face the music. _

" _Impmon, you've been stealing again" The lead Yokomon accused. _

_Impmon rolled his eyes. " Well of course I have! Take a look, does this look like a good Digimon ta you? Note the colour, the big smiley face. Note this." He held out a hand. An orb of flame winked into existence.. "Now scram! Before I set the lot o' you on fire!"_

"_That's nasty Impmon." The lead Yokomon continued in an infuriatingly calm voice. " Sometimes I think you're no better than Devimon."_

" _Well of course I'm no better than Devimon! I'm gonna turn into Devimon one o' these days you know that right? Impmon, Devimon, Myotismon that's how it goes. I don't get a choice in the matter. Now if you'll excuse me, I was havin' a rather pleasant dream." _

_The Yokomon scowled and turned away; Impmon watched them as they went. His expression was almost...wasteful. _

**They never understood us, even then.**

" I don't know...where am I? What's happening?"

**Your mind is wandering the corridors of the past as our body heals. The damage was heavier than we thought. **

" You said '''my'' mind and yet ''our'' body. Just what do you mean by that?"

**Amusing. You still are not convinced that I am a part of you? Understandable. Here let me show you. **

_The image fades away and is replaced by something new._

_Impmon was hurt. He felt like he'd been squashed by a giant foot – which wasn't too far from the truth of it. He looked behind him. Desperate for a way, any way, to escape. _

_Nothing. Just a raging river at his back. And a pissed-off DarkTyranomon at his front. Well this was not going to be pretty._

**You remember this? Our first real fight.**

I thought I was going to die.

**And yet it was nothing to the fights that we had ahead. **

A regiment of his finest troops stood in strict rank. Dark Rings gleamed in the early light. He'd chosen carefully; every type of Digimon present was particularly susceptible to the influence of his Dark Rings. The front four rows were all Tankmon- champion Digimon, heavily armed and armoured. Perfect shock-troops. Early in his reign, the Digimon Emperor had discovered that because of their savage nature, Tankmon were ideal for front-line duties. They hardly even required the Dark Rings at all. All he did was point them at an enemy and order them to obliterate. Behind them came several rows of DarkTyrannomon. Brutal, deadly and totally mindless. The virus that raged through their bodies was also responsible for increased aggression. Their minds already aflame in the sea of hate that the virus produced, it was almost too easy to redirect them to his own purposes. These were Digimon of the highest calibre, mindless and loyal. Perfect little slaves. Above them, the Airdramon gathered. His own personal transport had already landed and was crouching with its belly to the ground. The Digimon Emperor turned to survey his forces one last time and found them to be adequate. Enough raw power gathered here to obliterate the Digi-Destined a hundred times over if they were stupid enough to poke their noses into the source of dark power. And they would be. If there was one thing that he had learned in his clashes with those morons and their partners it was that they didn't know when to back down. They'd come, in full force too.

And he would be waiting for them. With all these troops, how could the Digi-Destined hope to escape? He found his lips twisting into a smile. Yes, it was all falling into place now. While his forces battled the Digi-Destined, he would penetrate into the core of the source and discover what was generating the power. He would perform a survey and – if it was a viable option – he would lay the groundwork for a power conduit. Then, the source would be his. According to his, admittedly rough calculations, if the power output remained stable his plans could advance by several weeks or even months. The ultimate domination of the Digital World would be several steps closer. He almost felt giddy as Airdramon rose into the sky. Its great ragged wings beating a slow tempo. A counterpoint to the rapid fluttering of his heart. If he could do this – and as ever, he was confident in his own abilities – then the Digi-Destined would be destroyed or captured, amd he would acquire a new source of power. All in one fell swoop.

It was almost too perfect.

Gennai scowled down at the computer screen in the vein hope that it had changed in the last several seconds. Perhaps it had just been a lafunction, a glitch. Such things were known to happen from time to time. Especially with the Emperor's Control Spires mucking about with the natural energy levels of the Digital World. His instruments were very sensitive – they'd been designed to be. Back when things were better. Even the slightest variation could mean disaster. PPerhaps the readings he was receiving were merely phantoms? It had happened before... but no. The vast tide of darkness was still radiating out of that single sector as though it had sprouted a thousand Control

Spires in the last few hours. That was just impossible though – the Digi-Destined had cleared it themselves It had reached several times the current record a few seconds ago and was still increasing.

What kind of Digimon could give of such readings? He could name a few, but that was only because of his extreme age and memory. There was no Digimon around today that could exert that much of the stuff. Or at least, he had always prayed that this was so.

Dark energy! But what else could it be? The Control Spires practically marinated the landscape in it, it was what prevented digivolution. The Digimon Emperor used it to power his Dark Rings, and many evil Digimon were based around it. It was a natural product of the digital world and in the normal course of things, nothing to worry about. But not in these quantities! He was getting a massive upsurge that was spilling into nearby sectors, and he was starting to get worried. The rate of energy generation was increasing rather than dropping. That wasn't right – Dark Energy was inherently destructive, to itself as well as anything else. Much more and it would begin to break down the very fabric of the sectors around it. He suppressed a shiver. He wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't. It was his duty to see the Digi-World safe. Even if he wasn't doing too well right now with the Emperor, he at least had to do what he could.

He didn't want to call on the Digi-Destined. They had enough on their plate already fighting the Emperor; they needed all the rest they could get. No, he didn't want to disturb them unless things took a turn for the worse. Besides, he had other...resources. One didn't stay in the Digital World for as long as he had without acquiring friends, allies. Most of those had been taken away by the Emperor – ether hit with Dark Rings, destroyed or simply forced underground like himself. The Digimon Emperor had waged a small war of obliteration against any known allies of the Digi-Destined. Most had fallen under his sway but a few...a few clung on.

And now he called upon one of those. The screen flickered for a second before the face of one of his most trusted allies appeared. Gennai smiled despite himself. It did an old man good to see a friendly face, even if only for a while.

" Andromon." He said in greeting.

The android Digimon inclined his head slightly. "What is it that you need of me?"

Gennai wondered where to start.

" Well it appears we need someone to investigate a certain sector recently cleared of the Emperor's influence. But the production of Dark Energy is actually increasing rather than falling. I don't know what could be causing it but I need someone to look into it and the Digi-Destined have had a few hard fights lately. I don't want to tire them out in case we need them again."

" Say no more. I shall look into the matter myself."

IceDevimon picked himself up off the floor for what seemed the fifth time today. He groaned; his muscles burned. Which was a singularly unpleasant experience for an ice-based Digimon like himself. Why did he keep falling down like this? He was hurt, but not that badly... Digimon healed fast, he should have been much improved by now. But he was actually getting worse. He felt weaker and weaker the longer he stayed here, and these corridors seemed endless, and the stupid smug-grin of the Angemon was really getting to him. He quashed the foolish desire to crush another one. He couldn't afford it. The corridor beckoned him on, but there was nothing beyond but more corridors. More walls of ice with their strange, but comfortable symbols. That was one thing anyway, this place was flooded with Dark Energy. It comforted him at least. It _ought _to be healing him as well but that didn't seem to be working quite like he expected. IceDevimon was no fool – he suspected that this place was the site of some ancient ritual or powerful weapon constructed long ago in the past. Such things were not uncommon once. After all, weren't the very Armour Digi-Eggs used by the Chosen themselves merely left-over from an earlier age? But this didn't feel like something the Digi-Destined would use; this was dark and twisted and cold as the Arctic winds. Why, it even felt like something he would use himself, if he had the power. It was leeching strength from its surroundings. But for what purpose? That would have frightened him, if his frozen heart could be frightened. He was trapped underground in an elaborate maze, he didn't even know if there was an exit. He didn't have the power simply to fight his way out and he was getting weaker by the second.

Despair threatened to settle in his heart but he was not a Digimon given to despair. Like fear, he considered it his natural duty to cause despair in others. Not wallow in it himself. Besides, if he was lucky he might find his way out before he was drained... or at least find someone to fight and kill. He hadn't made a kill in a while, it was really starting to get to him.

Despair. Yes, that was his enemy. And fear too. Fear and despair were like a clamp, they froze one in place. They robbed one of thought. IceDevimon knew first-hand He had seen many Digimon who were theoretically more powerful than he fall at his hands because of fear and despair. And once, a long time ago, he had known despair like an old friend.

He travelled through what seemed to be miles of twisting tunnels. Each step was harder than the last, each breath took a little more effort than before. He cursed and cursed until he could hardly breath. His limbs felt like led but he continued. His wings had long since stopped being anything other than extra weight, but he continued. The pain in his body built and built until he felt like he was going to explode, but he forced himself forwards. One foot at a time. And as he walked, he began to think. The image of the frozen tunnels started to blur and he imagined that he saw scenes from the past. He blinked rapidly, shook his head from side to side. No. He wouldn't start revisiting the past. It was too much like giving up. Weaklings retreated to the past when they had nowhere else to go but he was IceDevimon! Not even that great Devimon that once ruled over File Island could rival him. He had a destiny. Yes! Focus on that... he had a destiny. Scores that needed to be settled. Revenges that required planning and thought before they could be realised. Enemies to be put into their graves.

Foremost amongst them was the Digimon Emperor.

He tripped and fell on his face. Pain stabbed through his forehead and he tried to rise. His arms were like jelly, he couldn't muster the strength.

_No. _He thought. Hate, hate was the key. Hate was life, so long as he could find strength for hate he would not fall now. He hated the fools who liked to pretend that they were so superior to him – the Angemon, the every damn exalted beast in existence, every good Digimon that looked down upon that poor, poor Impmon who would one day be doomed to become Myotismon unless he mended his ways and turned over a new leaf. It was sickening! Wait...did he just think ''Impmon''? He was IceDevimon, wasn't he?

Darkness closed in for the sixth time that day.

_Impmon didn't moan or groan, even though his injuries were the worst he had ever had. His arm was broken, he felt like he'd been through the grinder and every now and then his body blurred slightly. The strict formation of the data that made him up was in dire straits. He felt as though his whole body was on fire. He was lying on his back, looking up at the moon and the stars. He could hear the sound of fighting close-by, and the grass and stones were digging into his tender back. With half a mind, he wondered what was happening. Who was winning? The other half concerned itself with more immediate problems. The raging agony of his body being one of them. _

_Slowly, he pushed himself onto his elbows. The fight was raging all around him now – wind whipped up by the two fighters roared like a hurricane as it battered against him. DarkTyrannomon roared and bellowed. Striding through the storm of strikes it opened its maw wide._

"_Fire Blast!"_

_But the other fighter was swift, sliding aside as the fiery attack roared past. His mane streamed behind him in the wind, his fist raised. _

_" Fist of the Beast King!"_

_The DarkTyrannomon toppled over slowly, like a great tree-trunk. There was none of that sissy sagging at the legs, it simply fell. With a crash it struck the ground and was still. Impmon got to his feet. unsteady, he swayed from side to side. Then, the monstrous Digimon turned to face him. The golden mane had settled now that the battle was over. The jagged-looking knife was put away. But Impmon knew better than to think he was safe. Leomon was a fully-fledged Champion who could go toe-to-toe with lower tier ultimate. He, Impmon, was a humble rookie and more-so, a rookie known to Digivolve into Devimon. A Digimon widely regarded as totally evil and unredeemable. _

_Impmon raised his fists as though he was actually considering fighting this guy. His eyes jumped from one point to the next. Desperately searching for an escape route, anything that might let him live just a little longer. His heart thundered in his chest. He had a hard time even breathing as the shaggy form of the humanoid Digimon closed in on him._

_Leomon dropped to one knee in a fluid motion. His blade wasn't drawn, but Impmon wasn't so naive as to believe that that meant anything other than that Leomon didn't want to get it dirty. He growled deep in the back of his throat. He couldn't let this big idiot push him around! He wasn't just some weakling they could be bullied into submission. He opened his mouth to bark a threat, a retort, an insult. Anything to show that he wasn't scared. _

" _Are you all right?" Leomon asked before Impmon could even start to speak. " I got here as fast as I could when the Yokomon told me about the attack."_

_Impmon was frozen. He'd actually come to _help _him? He... he hadn't even thought of that! But why would a big guy like Leomon actually try to help someone like him? It didn't make sense. He'd spent his life alone, he'd had to fight and to steal simply so that he could see the next sunrise and no one had ever so much as cared for him never mind come to help him!_

"_Ah...I..." He stuttered. This couldn't be real. Why would anyone care about a scum-bag like him? Why would Leomon risk his own life to save him?_

" _Are you unharmed?" Leomon asked, bending down closer to get a better look at the little Digimon._

"_I'm fine! I just gotta little something in my eye."_

**We were such fools ever to trust him. **

IceDevimon struggled for words – his mind was afire with old memories he had not revisited for many years. Old emotions newly woken surged through his veins. Leomon! He hadn't thought about Leomon in such a long time. It unearthed strange emotions he could no longer fathom. They bombarded him now. Pushing through them like a man forcing his way through a raging river, he demanded.

_What are you? You say that you're me, but I am no fool. You're some kind of parasite, aren't you? You're what this place was built to contain._

**All will be revealed...in time. But for now suffice it to say that you are correct and yet not correct. I am you, but this place was built to contain me.**

_Then how are you me? This place has stood for hundreds of years at least – I don't understand. _

**Of course you don't. That's not unexpected. Trust me – who else can you trust more than yourself - all will be explained in time. **

IceDevimon wanted to demand an answer. The same old hate surged through him, but somehow he just couldn't bring it to the fore. The voice was too distant a target for hate, it didn't represent anything that he could visualise.

**Did you know that there used to be a force called the Royal Knights? Its true. You still know about them, even today, right? That's what legends are for, tales past down through the generations from one Digimon to the next. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single Digimon who did not know about the Royal Knights.**

IceDevimon had to think for a minute – it had been so long since his thoughts had been focused on anything other than destruction or serving the Digimon Emperor that his memory was clouded. But he did remember. The Royal Knights... didn't Leomon used to talk about them? He'd had admiration in his voice and a strange, far-away look in his eyes. He'd said that they had made the ultimate sacrifice for the Digital World. He'd been so sad when he said it. A lot of modern-day codes of conduct and general guidelines for self-styled heroic Digimon like Leomon or Knightmon descended from the Royal Knights. As Impmon, he'd always looked upon them as a foolish legend for those too weak to write their own and as IceDevimon they had only been a lie that stupid fools wheeled out to try and hide their own weakness.

Before he could say anything else, his vision clouded and all was dark.

"_Leomon!" _

_Leomon was sent crashing to the ground again. His blood pooled around him as he groaned and rose to his feet. His grip on the handle of his blade was firm still. With a roar, he wheeled around to face his darkest foe yet._

" _Fist of the Beast King!"_

"_Death Hand!"_

_A blast of pure dark-energy collided with and annihilated Leomon's attack. The shock-wave forced Leomon to his knees and sent Impmon tumbling back. _

_Clambering to his feet, Impmon watched with wide-eyes as the form of the evil Digimon emerged from the smoke. _

_Uncurling his wings, Devimon laughed a rich, dark laugh. _

" _Your reign of evil ends here, Devimon." Leomon growled._

" _If that is so, then why are you on your knees before me. Finally learn to recognise your betters?"_

"_RAARGH! Fist of the Beast King!"_

"_Death Hand!"  
_

_The explosion bloomed again, the dark energy surged past. This time Impmon kept his feet. His heart beat was so fast that he felt like his chest might explode. _

" _I can do this all day Leomon. Just give up and I might let you live."_

"_I won't let you get away with this."_

" _Go ahead and try to stop me. I'm standing right here. Go on, put an end to my evil. If you can."_

"_L-Leomon." Impmon came up behind his friend of many years. He'd never been so terrified, not even when that DarkTyrannomon tried to eat him and he first met Leomon so long ago._

"_Leomon lets just run. We can't beat him... W-we're just not strong enough. He's a monster... a monster straight from Hell!"_

_Devimon laughed again. _

"_You're one to talk, Impmon. I used to be just like you. Weak, pathetic and totally dependant on others for survival. But look at me now! I am Devimon! The foremost force for darkness in this entire world. I fear nothing, and one day I will rule supreme. Join me. You're not like Leomon here. You're one of us, born of the darkness. Join me, serve me and you will live – and more! Think of what you can become. Think of the majesty the might, the power that is in your future. One day you will become like me, that is unavoidable. Do you think they will accept you? Right now, they simply suffer you because you are small, but what when you grow bigger? Think you they will tolerate a Devimon with the power to destroy them all? If you do you're even more stupid than I thought. _

_Look at me! I am your destiny whether you accept that or not doesn't matter. Join me, live. Don't, die. Simple choice Impmon."_

_Impmon started. Did Devimon really mean it? Would he really let him live? Looking at him, he thought he would. Devimon was a monster...but he knew that he could not attain the power he sought alone. It wasn't unheard of for them to recruit lesser Digimon. Normally dark Digimon who were of the Devimon line. Devimon meant what he said, Impmon realised. He really did want Impmon to join him, and he really did intent for Impmon to eventually Digivolve and assist him. Could it really be? Could he really survive so easily? All he had to do was renounce Leomon and join Devimon._

_It was really that simple. _

_He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. _

_What was wrong? Why couldn't he say it? His very life depended on it and now his own body was rebelling against him!_

"_What's the matter? Why are you hesitating? Surely, you aren't actually considering staying with this weak-hearted fool?"_

_What am I doing? Thought Impmon. I can't really be thinking of leaving Leomon...I can't. Damn it, why do I feel this way? I'm supposed to be a bad guy, I'm not supposed to be...to be loyal. He's right... one day I'll be just like him. _

_But not today. _

_Not today._

" _Badda Boom!"_

_He threw all his power into the attack, summoning the biggest orb of flames he'd ever been able to. Devimon didn't block it. More due to surprise than anything. It struck his chest and he growled in pain. But he wasn't injured. With a sinking heart, Impmon watched as Devimon withdrew his hand of friendship. _

" _I see. So this is how it will be. You're a fool, a weak-minded bleeding heart. If you value your hollow friendship so much... then die with your friend!"_

"_Evil Wing!"_

_Impmon closed his eyes as the attack hurtled towards him, but it didn't impact. Opening an eye, he gasped._

_Leomon! The lion-based Digimon was standing in front of him, arms crossed, having taken the attack. He was bleeding even more badly now, but he hadn't fallen. _

"_Leomon." He whispered._

_" As long as I stand. I will allow no harm to come to you."_

_Impmon shivered. Leomon's injuries were so great... and yet he'd found the strength to save him, even thought it meant so much pain for himself. _

"_Leomon, I believe in you! Take this guy down."_

_Leomon's face twisted into a grin._

_" With pleasure."_

_He squared himself up, taking a deep breath as Devimon watched waiting for the counter-attack._

" _You're wrong, Devimon. His future is not set. No future is. What happened to you was something that you did to your self. Through your hate, and through your loneliness you become what you are now. But it doesn't have to happen to Impmon."_

"_Then you are mad as well as a fool. The future is set, the wheels are in motion. Nothing that you do matters anymore. Your end is nigh!"_

" _We will see. Now taste my ultimate technique. Beast Soul Storm!"_

_Leomon moved like lightning, at first Impmon thought that it was simply another Fist of the Beast King, but when the raw energy surging around his body began to build rather than release, that was when he knew he was in for something special. Leomon thrust his fist forwards, moving so fast he blurred. Again and again, he launched the roaring lion-faces. Ten, twelve, twenty, all screaming in towards Devimon. _

_The Dark Digimon scowled and drew his wings against his body like a shield. The lions struck at the same time, with a triumphant roar they detonated with enough force to blow Impmon off his feet. To crack the ground itself. Even Leomon was forced to take a few steps back. _

_Impmon shook his head in disbelief. He did it, he actually did it! _

"_Leomon, I-"_

_His words were cut of by a burst of demonic laughter. His heart sank._

"_No..."  
_

"_Yes!" _

_With a flourish of his wings, Devimon blew the smoke aside. He was burned, hurt, but alive. _

" _That was very impressive, I'll give you that. I have not faced such a powerful attack in a very long time! You, Leomon, will make a very effective servant."  
_

"_Serve you? Never!"_

"_Heh, that's what my last servant said as well. He was my slave for ten years before I tired of his ugly face and deleted him. You, I think I will keep around longer. Raw power is something to be respected – even if it is contained in a brain-dead oaf like yourself. Now, save yourself the trouble and bow to my mastery of your own will. Otherwise things will go very badly for you. I promise you, you will bow to me. One way or another."_

_Leomon took an instinctive half-step backwards. But cast his eyes over Impmon and stopped himself. He steeled himself to do what he had to. He had duties, commitments... he was a warrior. _

" _Impmon."_

_Impmon was by his side in a moment, the small Digimon was shaking visibly. He knew that they weren't in a good position, he knew that there was no way out now. _

" _Impmon, when I attack run. Run as fast as you can. Go to the Yokomon village. They will hide you there. Devimon will probably come after you but don't be afraid. Garudamon, one of my greatest friends, will be with you as soon as you are able to reach the Yokomon. They will contact her and she will make good speed to your aid. Garudamon is an ultimate level Digimon._

_Impmon couldn't believe what he was hearing. His heart froze, his brain refused to accept it. Leomon couldn't be giving up, he never surrendered. He never admitted defeat. He was the guardian of the weak, the helpless. So long as someone needed him, he could never fall._

_Or that was how Impmon had always pictured him anyway. Somehow, he had never thought that it could end like this. Leomon had always seemed bigger than life, more powerful than any champion he'd ever met. Leomon never gave up, he never was beaten and he would always win in the end. _

" _What about you, Leomon? You can't be thinking of trying to take him on. Not after that."_

" _I have no choice. As long as evil exists, I must oppose it. Even if I cannot do any more than be destroyed, I would stand up. Because someone must. Because every great rock-slide must start with a simple pebble. Every great flood with a single drop of rain. But mostly because I can't just stand by as that monster goes about his bloody business. Remember me, Impmon. And know this: Everyone has a destiny. But destiny can be changed, the future isn't written. What we do, what we are, is all that matters. Remember that, think on it. Now, RUN!"_

_Before Impmon could say anything, Leomon launched himself at Devimon. His blade glinted as he drew it once more, his feral roar that of a wild beast. It seemed to resonate through the ground itself, to reach into your spine and take direct control._

_Impmon ran. He didn't think about it, he just did. Leomon's words haunted him. Dodging between trees, head-down he ran as fast as his short legs could carry him. And all the way, he could only think of what Leomon had said._

_Enough! _

The blackness withdrew at his command, almost as though it feared him. Using his new breathing space, IceDevimon summoned his power. Hate boiled within him. He would not be fooled, he would not be tricked. This was an illusion, nothing else. Whatever parasite that had been chained to this place was playing with his mind. But he wouldn't allow it to go any farther.

With another surge of will, he destroyed the encroaching darkness utterly. The world around him swam into focus. He was on the ground again.

Why did he always seem to end up that way?

With a grunt, he was on his feet again. Strange. He felt stronger now, maybe he was finally starting to heal? Heh, this blasted place wasn't effecting him as much as it had. He was becoming immune to it. The why didn't matter, only that it was happening. He grinned.

Soon, he was rocketing through the corridors. Running as fast as he could, each step a burst of strength. The walls rushed past him in a blur. He felt new power surging through him, each step made him stronger.

_What's happening to me?  
_

**You are approaching the centre of the tomb. My final resting place. It is the only way out.**

Outside! It seemed so long since he had been outside. Of course, it hadn't been more than a few hours if even that. He wasn't really sure. But all the visions were taking a toil on him, he felt like he'd been trapped in here for days.

Yes, outside. That was where he would go. Into the cold and snow where he was strongest. Once there, he could recover the rest of his strength and then...revenge! Yes, revenge was in order. He felt giddy just thinking about it. First, the Digimon Emperor would fall. Then, the Digi-Destined would die one by one. He was no fool, they were too powerful. Too good at working together. He would need a plan; he would need to separate them. Strike when they were alone and one by one, they would all fall. The first to go, he decided, would be that meddlesome Flamedramon. But before he did any of that, there was something he had to know.

_What are you?_

**That is a question that only you can answer for yourself. Come and see. **

Suddenly, the corridor ahead of him opened to the entrance of a chamber he could have bet wasn't there before. Stepping carefully through it, he was met with a sight that made even IceDevimon take a step backwards.

It was a massive cavern. Hawed out of solid ice – deep ice, too. Not that easily breakable nonsense that you got near the surface. He knew from personal experience that this stuff could sometimes rival even Chrome Digizoid – the strongest metal in the Digi-World. The walls were rough, like someone had simply gouged at them until there was enough space to contain whatever it was they wanted to build. And It looked like they'd wanted to build a city. The roof was so high above that he could just barely see it. The corridors hadn't gone that deep surely? Just how far had he fallen? The walls of the cavern were massive, hulking forms in the far distance. Shrouded in fog they looked like lumbering giants bending as they got closer to the roof. There were small shapes in the distance but upon closer inspection they were full sized buildings! They just seemed dwarfed by the sheer size of everything else. His eye was immediately drawn to the biggest building in the cavern. It was bigger than anything he'd ever seen. A great pyramid of ice and snow. Stretching to the very top of the cavern it was like a mountain. There were no windows or doors that he could make out, but surely there was some way into it? Who would build such an impressive structure and yet leave it unusable? Flanking it, there were two smaller but still impressive pyramids made in the same way. A strange fog coated the floor thickly. He felt cold too – and that shouldn't be. IceDevimon shouldn't have been able to feel the cold. Cold was part of his very being – it would have been like Meramon being burned by fire, or like SkullGreymon actually showing care and compassion. Just not possible.

So why was he cold?

Intrigued, he stepped forwards. Immediately upon overcoming the threshold, he fell to his knees. Pain pounded through his body like a hammer upon a forge. But he fought it back, bottled it up. Mastering the pain, he was on his feet again and looking for an enemy. But he saw nothing more than the great pyramids before him, the curtain of fog that covered the ground. Wait, what was that? Turning his head a little, he spotted something that the fog and the massive dimensions of the pyramid had conspired to obscure from him. A statue at the foot of the biggest of the three. It was red, unlike everything else he had seen. It had a lance and a shield... it wasn't an Angemon. In fact, it looked like no Digimon he had ever seen. He moved carefully forward. Each foot-step lost in the consuming fog. Each step careful. The statue slowly came into focus...except that it wasn't a statue. It looked eerily like a Digimon that had long ago ceased to exist in this world... but how? No one had seen one since the very early years of the Digital realm.

Gallantmon. It was true. And not a statue. But what then? It almost looked like a body, but Digimon didn't leave bodies. They were broken into raw data and then reformatted into a Digi-Egg. Even if their data wasn't reformatted, the body still broke up. So what was this? A model? A reproduction?

**No such luck, I'm afraid. That's the real deal. Gallantmon, in the flesh, as it were. **

"How?" He spoke aloud now. It was easier than carefully constructing the sentence in his mind and then sending it off like an email.

**It is hard to explain – I do not know all the details myself. He fell in battle, against a great force of darkness. The leader of that force struck him down personally with the Shadow-Lance technique. If a Shadow-Lace achieves a kill it freezes its victims in the instant before true death."**

" Interesting."

IceDevimon pondered the implications of such an attack. It was not unheard of for other IceDevimon to freeze victims before their death but that wasn't the same. Their data still dissolved and melted away, it was just an ice sculpture that remained. A trophy. He'd never seen the point – freezing a still-living victim. Now that made sense, it let them die slowly. It was a good method of extracting information and for finishing off people who had particularly annoyed him. _Like the Digimon emperor. _Quite a few of his enemies would one day find themselves slowly dying in their icy tombs if he had anything to say about it.

" You were part of this force for darkness, weren't you?"

**Yes.**

" And yet you still claim that you and I are the same being?"

**Yes.**

" So how exactly does that work out?"

**Your answers wait. At the top of the highest pyramid you shall find my tomb. Once there, I will tell you everything you need to know. **

" And what do you want from me?"

**Now that is the question. Why would I help you? Did you think that perhaps I merely wish to aid a fellow fallen-angel? No? I knew there was something I liked about you. As you may have guessed, there is a cost. A paltry service – hardly even worth bothering with. Nevertheless it is something that would aid my centuries long slumber. **

"Just what ''paltry service'' is this?"

**I wish you to destroy a Digimon. Three Digimon to be exact, but only one need concern you at the minute. **

|" Indeed. And –-assuming I decide to help you – just what Digimon do you want me to destroy?"

**A very special Digimon. An old friend, as it were. I believe that you too have a grudge against this particular Veemon.**

"Veemon eh?" Memories of the Flamedramon danced through his head and he found that he was grinning.

"Perhaps we could work out a deal after all."

**Yes. I thought so. **

**Welcome, IceDevimon! This place has no name, for there were none left alive to give it one. But I simply fall it...Galllantmon's Rest. **

**Now, climb the pyramid and there you will find all the information you seek... and a destiny that will shake the stars themselves.**


End file.
